Shooting the Mistletoe

Day 197 of the "What are you reading, and why?" project, and Jim says he's reading the Tess Gerritsen Jane Rizzoli forensic crime series, "and before that I was reading James Patterson. Because I don't like to think much when I read.'' Where have I heard that before?

Oh, here.

Jim also told me about harvesting mistletoe. We were discussing kudzu* at the time. "Mistletoe grows in big balls in the trees," said Jim. "They have to shoot it down." According to National Geographic, this is quite true.

*Kudzu is considered an invasive pesky plant by many. But I remembered reading somewhere about the beneficial uses of kudzu. There is actually a documentary on kudzu! Unfortunately, now it might be contributing to ozone pollution. But if we could turn it into ethanol, we could have green gas! Or it can treat cocaine addiction and alcoholism. But at first the conversation was about kudzu technology, kudzu business ratings, etc., etc. You see how this could just go on and on, like kudzu.

I lived in Florida in childhood, so I did see it cover everything. And I loved the Spanish moss, hanging from the trees. That nobody shot down.

Meanwhile, a local book group is reading The Quiet American, by Graham Greene.

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After catching up on my email, I have this to share: the new poem at Linebreak...is "Mistletoe."

I freak myself out.